GO TO HIGH SCHOOL, GO TO COLLEGE ACT OF 2015

EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS HAVE GREATER OPPORTUNITY TO ENROLL IN AND GRADUATE FROM
COLLEGE

More than 300 early college high schools across the country have improved college readiness and
college completion rates of low-income students who have traditionally been underrepresented in
postsecondary education. These schools provide students the opportunity to simultaneously pursue a
high school diploma while earning college credits up to an associates degree, tuition-free. A 2013
American Institutes for Research evaluation of early college high schools found significant increases in
college enrollment and completion among early college students. Specifically, the study found that 81
percent of early college students enrolled in college, compared with 72 percent of comparison students.
During the evaluation period, 25 percent of early college students earned an associates degree, as
compared with only 5 percent of comparison students.
FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO EARN MEANINGFUL
COLLEGE CREDIT DURING HIGH SCHOOL

Expanding access to early college high schools will increase college completion rates and ultimately
reduce the time and cost of earning a college degree. Growth of early colleges has been stifled by rising
tuition costs that are unaffordable for students and too great to be assumed by sponsoring high school
and college partners. The federal government should allow greater flexibility within the need-based Pell
grant program to increase opportunities for students to earn college credits and degrees.
THE GO TO HIGH SCHOOL, GO TO COLLEGE ACT OF 2015
This bipartisan, bicameral proposal offered by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Mark Warner (DVA), along with Representatives Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Chris Gibson (R-NY) would improve
secondary and postsecondary outcomes for students and maximize the efficiency of federal student aid.
The Go to High School, Go to College Act would allow Pell grant funding for eligible students to be
used for transferable college credits, including core general education requirements, that students
complete in an early college program offered by an accredited Institution of Higher Education.
To ensure the effectiveness of the program, and in order to avoid penalizing students, early colleges
would be reimbursed for the cost of tuition and fees on behalf of eligible students retroactively, based on
college credits completed up to an associates degree or four semesters of college coursework.
This proposal would allow tuition-free early colleges to be sustained and scaled nationally to serve more
students, thereby increasing college access and helping more low-income students afford and complete
college degrees. Higher college completion rates and reduced time to earn a degree would ultimately
save money within the Pell grant program.